Cleanliness review insights for New York, United States, Restaurants

0 Stars - Earlier today, 2/9, around lunchtime, five coworkers and I went to L’amore Restaurant to celebrate a coworker’s birthday. What should have been a simple, happy lunch turned into one of the most horrifying dining experiences I’ve ever had. After taking only two bites of my cheese ravioli, I immediately noticed the texture was off. Then I felt it, a snap and crunch in my mouth. I spit the bite back onto my plate and was horrified to see half of a waterbug or large cockroach mixed in with my food. Using my fingers, I pulled what was still in my mouth out onto the plate and found roach legs, part of the head, and a visible antenna. I had already swallowed part of it. Yes. I ingested part of a waterbug. My coworkers inspected the plate and confirmed exactly what I feared. This wasn’t a mistake. It was absolutely a large waterbug. We immediately alerted the waiter. His response? He looked at the plate, then looked at me in a way that strongly suggested he believed we planted it ourselves. No concern. No apology. No “are you okay?” He simply grabbed the plate and walked away to the back. That reaction alone was almost as disturbing as the roach itself. We all stood up and left immediately, completely disgusted and unable to even consider eating anywhere else after what we had just experienced. Our coworker’s birthday celebration was completely ruined. And in hindsight, it all makes sense. When we first arrived, a worker was standing outside begging people to come in. Against our better judgment, we gave the place a chance. This is what we got. The irony? The bathroom was sparkling clean. Maybe the kitchen could use even half of that level of attention. If you’re thinking about eating here, do yourself a favor and stay far away. The sanitary conditions are clearly questionable, but even worse is the complete lack of accountability, professionalism, and basic care for customers. This place doesn’t just serve food, it serves disgust. Steer clear.

A Cantonese roast-meat shop couldn't stay afloat and has now turned into Joy's Cafe. The renovation looked pretty nice, so I decided to give it a try -- but it was a complete disaster. The servers were walking around looking busy, yet we sat there for ten minutes without anyone acknowledging us. The plates and chopsticks they gave us were not properly cleaned, and there was black sediment in the drinking water. When a server finally came over, they gave us attitude just for asking to change the plates and water. If this is because they're in soft opening and the staff is still untrained and inexperienced, that might explain the service -- but the food is the real fatal problem. The curry chicken chop rice looked like they just scooped some pre-made curry sauce onto the plate and placed a pre-fried chicken chop on top without even bothering to mix it. The salt-and-pepper pork chop was the same story: basically a breaded fried pork cutlet plus a packet of salt-and-pepper seasoning, dumped on the plate without even tossing it together. The stir-fried beef chow fun was at least made fresh and had some wok hei, but it was far too salty. Every dish came out lukewarm at best. This is clearly another Hong Kong-style cafe surviving on pre-made food. If they don't make changes, I doubt they'll last a year.

A very big warning against the Da Vinci Hotel, which will be quite difficult to find as their quite dirty old front is somewhat hidden in the quite dirty street they're located in, and doesn’t reflect their prices. In general, the hotel is nothing like on the website - while looking like a fancy boutique hotel on the official pictures, the lobby is quite shabby and there’s a strong odour of the quite distinct rat- and cockroach repellent which is being used in old buildings in New York. As the hotel has a restaurant in the basement and is old and unmaintained, the pests come up to the rooms and there was a quite large cockroach in my room. My room was their most expensive category and the TV, which I had paid a lot of money to be able to relax in front of, did not work. The hotel staff and management were quite arrogant about it, just said the maintenance person was “out of town” all day and evening - and maybe the next day too. A Wednesday in Times Square? Booking.com did what they could to get my money back from the management but didn’t succeed and instead gave me a voucher. There’s in particular one receptionist who's quite nasty, will speak your first name in a condescending way etc. Both receptionists were shockingly dishonest. Also, please note that unless you buy the most expensive category, which is often more expensive than the last-minute deals at the nearby Hilton and Marriott hotels, your room will face back walls and noisy restaurant fans, not a very charming situation. This review will go back on top of Google a couple of times a month to warn other travellers as I know how much most people look forward to their sometimes once-in-a-lifetime New York trip. Furthermore, many people don’t like to leave negative feedback or forget to leave it and just stay away. Do yourself a favour and choose any other hotel in the area. Da Vinci Hotel clearly does not deserve to be in business and probably won't be for very much longer. Give yourself a better New York experience than described in the above - You deserve it.

A bit of a mixed bag here at the Mythos, not convinced with the 4 star plus rating, a 4 star hotel maybe but definitely only 3 star services - but I’ll start with the positives! 5 stars for the hotel staff - most are very helpful, kind and customer focused (with the exception of the Zoe restaurant where they avoided eye contact at all times!) There’s clearly nowhere near enough people to meet the demand at the Zoe. I actually felt sorry for them but they were really quite rude and very ignorant, quite different from the rest of the team. 5 stars for the cleaning staff - what a lovely bunch. Always said hello and our room was spotless every day. Special mention to Poppy, she’s an absolute gem, please take good care of her! 5 stars for the staff at the Olea Restaurant, super fast service, very attentive and the food was lush. There are lots of uninvited guests here tho… cats, mosquitos and wasps, annoying but didn’t take away from the food and service but if you don’t like eating with extra guests, you may want to think twice as there are loads of them! 5 star for the reception team - always on hand to help and very polite and welcoming. Bit of a wait when we arrived, usual queuing to sort rooms, cases, passports etc but not horrendous. Room wasn’t ready tho so if you’ve got an early flight, pop your essentials in your hand luggage. 4 stars for the hotel, beautiful place with the most amazing sea views (would definitely recommend you pay extra). It’s a huge complex though and our room was so very far away from the main restaurant. Lots of very steep slopes to navigate too - although they do have these buggy type things to ferry you about - if you’re lucky enough to catch one. Otherwise, a great workout and good exercise! It’s definitely more for the older clientele too, I’m +50 and felt positively young here! 3 stars for the all-inclusive - cheapest beer and wine possible and all the cocktails tasted the same! Ordered a couple of different ones but think they throw Ouzo In them all as even my Mojito tasted of aniseed! Ended up paying for our beers, wine and cocktails from the main menu in the end and gave up on the freebies (well they’re not actually free as we paid for them in the price of the holiday!). 3 stars for the village - I purposely booked a quiet location but seriously, there’s nothing here. It’s quiet and then some. Only one shop and a few cafe/tavernas but again, be prepared to walk as there’s no buses and taxis are very hit and miss. Being Greece, there’s no pavements when you step out on to the main road and constant traffic - take care if you’re elderly or need a wheelchair/scooter - walking around the village is not for the feint-hearted! Would recommend the travel place just down the road (Messonghi Travel). We had a couple of trips out and they were excellent. Highly recommend the boat trips, really well organised and went to some lush places (Parga and The Blue Lagoon). Just not enough time to visit as spent most of the trip on the boat journey (worth it though and good VFM). Pop into Messonghi if you get chance too, more happening here and a lovely stretch of sandy beach. The beach here in Boukari is stone, pebbles and seaweed but there are beds dotted about and the sea is amazing. Clean, warm and shallow - spent most of our days on the beach and in the lush waters. Loved the sea but missed the sand - make sure you have aqua shoes and there are a LOT of stones to navigate but again, worth it for the sea and beautiful clear water. 3 stars for the entertainment - had a couple of great nights. The Greek music with guitar and violinist was superb, really authentic. Very confusing where the entertainment was being held too, as it changed daily! They do have an App so you can see what’s what, but changing venues daily wasn’t ideal and if the entertainment is up on the roof (Sky Bar) be prepared for a long wait to get a drink/seat, it’s mad busy. 2 stars for the Zoe (main) restaurant. Be prepared to have finished your meal before you get a drink. Ended up helping myself to water a couple of nights as the staff literally walk past you, despite every attempt to get their attention. The food was OK but we gave up on breakfast (too far to walk for a bit of brekkie!) and lunch and ate lunch at the Olea instead. Limited choice at the Olea (not buffet style) but really nice food and a few Greek specialties and super-fast, excellent service! All in all, if you love the hotel life and are happy to spend your holiday by the pool and around a hotel complex, then this is the perfect place for you. If you like to get out and about more, maybe not! Lovely place but I wouldn’t return.

After the restaurant took our credit card number months in advance and warned us to arrive on time -which we did- they made us wait because other people were still eating at our reserved table. We waited about 10 minutes, and they did not even offer us a free glass of water for the wait. I went to the toilet to wash my hands, and saw, to my dismay that it was filthy. I couldn't believe it, and actually told the hostess that the toilet was disgusting. She said she would check it. Later on, I went to use another bathroom, and to my utter disgust, it was filthy too - overflowing trash, toilet paper all over the place, some of the tiles were loose, I almost fell, the sink had not been cleaned who knows how long. I'll spare you additional details. So should I talk about the food, ambiance and service now? It is totally irrelevant. Imagine how the kitchen looks like if these toilets are not maintained properly. Ugh.

An ode to old school French cuisine with a slight modern flare. The food was flawless. Service equally as flawless. But the devil is in the details. I was disappointed by a dirty lipstick stained water glass, a dead flower on my table and a plate that had been obviously wiped with a greasy towel. These are basic rookie errors. Shouldn’t happen.

After years of constant travel, countless hotel stays across major cities, and generally giving businesses the benefit of the doubt before ever leaving a negative review… I can confidently say my experience at The Tillary Hotel in Brooklyn was one of the worst hotel experiences I have EVER encountered. Where do I even begin. We became trapped inside one of the hotel elevators for nearly an hour. Not “briefly delayed.” Not “temporarily stuck.” Completely trapped. No clear communication. No urgency. No professionalism. Just panic, confusion, and an unbelievable lack of preparedness from the hotel staff handling the situation. It was genuinely horrifying. And somehow… the way management handled everything afterward may have been even worse. I was personally assured multiple times that a refund would be issued due to the severity of the incident. Staff members acknowledged how unacceptable the situation was and repeatedly promised follow-up communication and resolution. That follow-up NEVER came. Instead, I was ignored, redirected between departments and booking platforms, and forced to chase answers myself while nobody took accountability. For a hospitality business, the lack of professionalism and basic customer care was honestly staggering. The condition of the property itself only added to the disappointment. The carpets throughout the hotel are visibly worn, stained, and dirty. The hallways feel neglected, outdated, and poorly maintained. The hotel presents itself online far differently than what you actually walk into. As someone who travels often, I do not leave reviews like this lightly. I understand things can go wrong anywhere. Elevators malfunction. Mistakes happen. But how a hotel responds afterward says everything. And The Tillary failed completely. The combination of the dangerous elevator incident, the false promises, the lack of follow-through, the poor maintenance, and the dismissive handling of the situation made this one of the most frustrating hotel experiences I’ve had in years. If you value professionalism, cleanliness, communication, or even basic guest safety — stay somewhere else. Brooklyn has FAR better options. Absolutely unacceptable.

Review rating: 1.0

Stay Away - They will give your room away I prepaid for a room for 2 nights / 3 days. Before my trip, I specifically called the hotel to let them know my flight into JFK would be arriving late around 10:30 PM and told them NOT to give my room away. I even called again the day before to confirm they had left a note on my reservation. I arrive at the hotel at MIDNIGHT after traveling all day, and they tell me they gave my room away anyway. Their explanation? “It’s first come, first serve.” HOW does that even make sense when I already PAID for the room in advance and notified you multiple times that I was arriving late?! Then it gets worse. When I asked for a refund for the first night, they told me my delayed flight was “my fault” and refused to refund me. Absolutely unbelievable customer service. On top of that: Dirty rooms Only 1 elevator working Terrible customer service from start to finish NEVER stay here. Completely unacceptable experience.

Review rating: 1.0

0 Stars - Earlier today, 2/9, around lunchtime, five coworkers and I went to L’amore Restaurant to celebrate a coworker’s birthday. What should have been a simple, happy lunch turned into one of the most horrifying dining experiences I’ve ever had. After taking only two bites of my cheese ravioli, I immediately noticed the texture was off. Then I felt it, a snap and crunch in my mouth. I spit the bite back onto my plate and was horrified to see half of a waterbug or large cockroach mixed in with my food. Using my fingers, I pulled what was still in my mouth out onto the plate and found roach legs, part of the head, and a visible antenna. I had already swallowed part of it. Yes. I ingested part of a waterbug. My coworkers inspected the plate and confirmed exactly what I feared. This wasn’t a mistake. It was absolutely a large waterbug. We immediately alerted the waiter. His response? He looked at the plate, then looked at me in a way that strongly suggested he believed we planted it ourselves. No concern. No apology. No “are you okay?” He simply grabbed the plate and walked away to the back. That reaction alone was almost as disturbing as the roach itself. We all stood up and left immediately, completely disgusted and unable to even consider eating anywhere else after what we had just experienced. Our coworker’s birthday celebration was completely ruined. And in hindsight, it all makes sense. When we first arrived, a worker was standing outside begging people to come in. Against our better judgment, we gave the place a chance. This is what we got. The irony? The bathroom was sparkling clean. Maybe the kitchen could use even half of that level of attention. If you’re thinking about eating here, do yourself a favor and stay far away. The sanitary conditions are clearly questionable, but even worse is the complete lack of accountability, professionalism, and basic care for customers. This place doesn’t just serve food, it serves disgust. Steer clear.

Signal: 0.0%

A Cantonese roast-meat shop couldn't stay afloat and has now turned into Joy's Cafe. The renovation looked pretty nice, so I decided to give it a try -- but it was a complete disaster. The servers were walking around looking busy, yet we sat there for ten minutes without anyone acknowledging us. The plates and chopsticks they gave us were not properly cleaned, and there was black sediment in the drinking water. When a server finally came over, they gave us attitude just for asking to change the plates and water. If this is because they're in soft opening and the staff is still untrained and inexperienced, that might explain the service -- but the food is the real fatal problem. The curry chicken chop rice looked like they just scooped some pre-made curry sauce onto the plate and placed a pre-fried chicken chop on top without even bothering to mix it. The salt-and-pepper pork chop was the same story: basically a breaded fried pork cutlet plus a packet of salt-and-pepper seasoning, dumped on the plate without even tossing it together. The stir-fried beef chow fun was at least made fresh and had some wok hei, but it was far too salty. Every dish came out lukewarm at best. This is clearly another Hong Kong-style cafe surviving on pre-made food. If they don't make changes, I doubt they'll last a year.

Signal: 0.0%

A very big warning against the Da Vinci Hotel, which will be quite difficult to find as their quite dirty old front is somewhat hidden in the quite dirty street they're located in, and doesn’t reflect their prices. In general, the hotel is nothing like on the website - while looking like a fancy boutique hotel on the official pictures, the lobby is quite shabby and there’s a strong odour of the quite distinct rat- and cockroach repellent which is being used in old buildings in New York. As the hotel has a restaurant in the basement and is old and unmaintained, the pests come up to the rooms and there was a quite large cockroach in my room. My room was their most expensive category and the TV, which I had paid a lot of money to be able to relax in front of, did not work. The hotel staff and management were quite arrogant about it, just said the maintenance person was “out of town” all day and evening - and maybe the next day too. A Wednesday in Times Square? Booking.com did what they could to get my money back from the management but didn’t succeed and instead gave me a voucher. There’s in particular one receptionist who's quite nasty, will speak your first name in a condescending way etc. Both receptionists were shockingly dishonest. Also, please note that unless you buy the most expensive category, which is often more expensive than the last-minute deals at the nearby Hilton and Marriott hotels, your room will face back walls and noisy restaurant fans, not a very charming situation. This review will go back on top of Google a couple of times a month to warn other travellers as I know how much most people look forward to their sometimes once-in-a-lifetime New York trip. Furthermore, many people don’t like to leave negative feedback or forget to leave it and just stay away. Do yourself a favour and choose any other hotel in the area. Da Vinci Hotel clearly does not deserve to be in business and probably won't be for very much longer. Give yourself a better New York experience than described in the above - You deserve it.

Signal: 0.0%